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I also think that a perspective that needs consideration is your finances. If you have the means to build a custom home with a high end builder more power to you, but if you are doing your homework only you will know where and what you are willing to forego or accept. Maybe, you can only afford the less energy efficient home. Yes, we understand that you will ultimately "pay" for the less efficient home, but if that what you feel comfortable with in terms of your personal finances then you buy the best you can. Many people buy lower end builders homes(for lack of better descriptive terms) and live happily ever after.
Additionally, just as with a tract builder, custom builders are not problem free just because they cost more. My mom, was a bookkeeper for a builder in the early 90's and in those days the cheapest homes were 1.5 million. These were showplaces with curved walls, marble foyers and baths, sub zero appliances, in ground pools and so on. Often times, there were disputes due to a problem that eventually was fixed to the buyers satisfaction.
You may also consider going to the community(s) where some Insight people complained. In addition to the references Insight gives you (which I assume is going to be all roses), you'll hear the viewpoint from the opposite end of the spectrum .
In communities where Insight has many houses, you may also want to talk to homeowners that own Insight homes, without being referenced by Insight. Just drive around and if they are out, strike up a friendly conversation.
To take it a step further, you could also ask Insight what manufacturer/model of major equipment you are getting. For example, Trane HVAC model XXX. The reason I suggested this is that I was talking to a HVAC servicer and I asked him what he thought about the HVAC's that Ryan Homes used and he said they were lower end models and weren't as reliable as ones other homebuilders used.
If after all your research you do decide to build with Insight, make sure they build your home higher up with the lawn sloping down from around your house. Many of their earlier homes were built flat which causes drainage issues.
We built an LC home and were satisfied. We are now building a Schell home and know that we will be even more satisfied. Regarding, the joke about Schell being a marketing company who happens to build houses, I would have said that they are a very social and socially conscious company. They seem to have a quite a few events, and sponsor things like Extreme Home Makeover with labor and materials, they remodel homes for those with handicaps, and even paint playground equipment at schools. In short, they are very community oriented (perhaps because they are local). Regardless, the homes they build are outstanding, but more importantly, they don't disappear after settlement. You get what you pay for. If you are shopping by price, stay away from Schell. We valued quality over price. Many folks want to build and decide they aren't going to pay a penny more than some number they arrived at. There are builders for those folks. I don't mean to suggest that Schell is expensive, but if someone is claiming to provide high quality with great features at low price, to me that's a red flag.
Last but not least, I am not going to spend any time writing about Insight. I currently live in the Windstone development. As I said I have an LC home. I have neighbors who have Insight homes. I suggest you visit the community (and others where Insight was disinvited to build) and talk to some of the homeowners. If you choose Insight, I wish you good luck.
Why does Insight build in so many communites but not of them are exclusively "Insight only" communitites. I know that they were asked to leave at least one community that we could have considered, called Windstone aparantly because of mold lawsuits. We are trying to get the best deal around and we do love Schell houses and everyone says they are the best but they are more expensive and will not bring the price down like Insight will. I keep hearing more and more complaints but the sales people are so convincing! We keep going back to them.
Does anyone on here have any real personal experience with this builder?
Hi,
Recently retired from "The Garden State", we will be moving to Delaware and are building a retirement home here. Insight Homes, after more than three years of research, is our builder of choice. We have done our homework: interviewed Insight homeowners, visited almost every builder and development in the area, studied all the Insight communities within a 20 radius of the Delaware beaches and spoke to a local building inspector. He has chosen Insight Homes for himself, saying that they pretty much blow all the other builders away when it comes to the quality of the home building. Admittedly, the decorating by some of the other builders was clouding my thinking. There are some stunning model homes by other builders that grabbed my attention. Decorating and all the "bells and whistles" of model homes are not what you usually can afford to pack into a house. All those extras cost $$$. Both of us want an energy efficient home, so we decided at one point, that Insight was it. Most of the Insight Homeowners that we randomly spoke with LOVED their home and said that it was all that the builder said it would be. One lady complained about the cost of water in Delaware, but that is not exclusive to Insight. The water bill would be the same no matter who built the house. When she told us what the bill was, it didn't sound unreasonable to me.
We've decided on a community called "Kingston Ridge" just north of Millsboro. Jim Parker, a custom builder, developed the community and more recently invited only Insight Homes to build there too. We like how the community is evolving and have had some wonderful conversations with those who would be our new neighbors. The lots are 3/4 acre more or less. We love that we are 20 minutes to Lewes and Rehoboth, about the same to Bethany and about 25 to Fenwick. We're close---but not too close. Plus, we can get anywhere and everywhere on the backroads. We are sooooo looking forward to the tax friendliness. We from New Jersey almost feel like we will hardly be paying taxes at all. By the way, we have no ties whatsoever to anyone from Insight...just looking to buy well.
Recently retired from "The Garden State", we will be moving to Delaware and are building a retirement home here. Insight Homes, after more than three years of research, is our builder of choice. We have done our homework: interviewed Insight homeowners, visited almost every builder and development in the area, studied all the Insight communities within a 20 radius of the Delaware beaches and spoke to a local building inspector. He has chosen Insight Homes for himself, saying that they pretty much blow all the other builders away when it comes to the quality of the home building. Admittedly, the decorating by some of the other builders was clouding my thinking. There are some stunning model homes by other builders that grabbed my attention. Decorating and all the "bells and whistles" of model homes are not what you usually can afford to pack into a house. All those extras cost $$$. Both of us want an energy efficient home, so we decided at one point, that Insight was it. Most of the Insight Homeowners that we randomly spoke with LOVED their home and said that it was all that the builder said it would be. One lady complained about the cost of water in Delaware, but that is not exclusive to Insight. The water bill would be the same no matter who built the house. When she told us what the bill was, it didn't sound unreasonable to me.
We've decided on a community called "Kingston Ridge" just north of Millsboro. Jim Parker, a custom builder, developed the community and more recently invited only Insight Homes to build there too. We like how the community is evolving and have had some wonderful conversations with those who would be our new neighbors. The lots are 3/4 acre more or less. We love that we are 20 minutes to Lewes and Rehoboth, about the same to Bethany and about 25 to Fenwick. We're close---but not too close. Plus, we can get anywhere and everywhere on the backroads. We are sooooo looking forward to the tax friendliness. We from New Jersey almost feel like we will hardly be paying taxes at all. By the way, we have no ties whatsoever to anyone from Insight...just looking to buy well.
You are the only ones that you have to convince how you feel about INSIGHT homes. Everyone needs to do their own research. I will address one thing you said which if you did your home work you know. Your time in terms of distance to a few places is for this time of year. Your can barely get through Millsboro in 20 minutes in the summer, never mind to Fenwick.
You are the only ones that you have to convince how you feel about INSIGHT homes. Everyone needs to do their own research. I will address one thing you said which if you did your home work you know. Your time in terms of distance to a few places is for this time of year. Your can barely get through Millsboro in 20 minutes in the summer, never mind to Fenwick.
Everyone certainly does need to see for themselves, but the OP did ask, right?
We have discovered some backroads that lead to 113 rather than navigating through all the lights in Millsboro. But, hey, when you're retired what's 20 minutes here and there?
You're right about summer traffic. I've been stuck on Rt. 26 and spent 20 minutes trying to get to Bethany Beach from Ocean View--mostly due to construction delays plus tourist traffic.
My wife and I found a house in a community in Millsboro where Insight was building. We could not work a deal with the current owner, but liked the community. We spent a few days talking to people who had built recently (with Insight) and they were all very happy with their decision (corresponded with people on this forum who trashed Insight, but did not live in Insight built homes). We went with our gut and research and built our home. Result: we are very pleased with what we have built. The house is efficient, solid and well built - any issues have been handled quickly and to our satisfaction. I have no problem recommending Insight to anyone who asks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzsilk
Hi,
Recently retired from "The Garden State", we will be moving to Delaware and are building a retirement home here. Insight Homes, after more than three years of research, is our builder of choice. We have done our homework: interviewed Insight homeowners, visited almost every builder and development in the area, studied all the Insight communities within a 20 radius of the Delaware beaches and spoke to a local building inspector. He has chosen Insight Homes for himself, saying that they pretty much blow all the other builders away when it comes to the quality of the home building. Admittedly, the decorating by some of the other builders was clouding my thinking. There are some stunning model homes by other builders that grabbed my attention. Decorating and all the "bells and whistles" of model homes are not what you usually can afford to pack into a house. All those extras cost $$$. Both of us want an energy efficient home, so we decided at one point, that Insight was it. Most of the Insight Homeowners that we randomly spoke with LOVED their home and said that it was all that the builder said it would be. One lady complained about the cost of water in Delaware, but that is not exclusive to Insight. The water bill would be the same no matter who built the house. When she told us what the bill was, it didn't sound unreasonable to me.
We've decided on a community called "Kingston Ridge" just north of Millsboro. Jim Parker, a custom builder, developed the community and more recently invited only Insight Homes to build there too. We like how the community is evolving and have had some wonderful conversations with those who would be our new neighbors. The lots are 3/4 acre more or less. We love that we are 20 minutes to Lewes and Rehoboth, about the same to Bethany and about 25 to Fenwick. We're close---but not too close. Plus, we can get anywhere and everywhere on the backroads. We are sooooo looking forward to the tax friendliness. We from New Jersey almost feel like we will hardly be paying taxes at all. By the way, we have no ties whatsoever to anyone from Insight...just looking to buy well.
My personal experience with Insight Homes and that of my friends and acquaintances.
Absolutely the worst customer service in the history of home building.
Sealed/Conditioned Crawl Spaces all seem to stink something awful. Like they are too tight and not ventilated properly. An inordinate amount of people/friends had massive stalactites of mold growing in the Crawl Spaces. Insight's answer "only a few types of mold are dangerous".
Floors do not feel solid they bounce up and down and creek. Insight says "our engineered floor joists can span larger distances, less wood is friendlier to the environment".
Every house seems to be built differently with no consistency. The exact same floor plans but one kitchen is significantly smaller because it was "installed incorrectly".
Freezing water heater's built in unconditioned garages. Insight's answer "only a fraction of water heaters actually freeze during a fraction of the year and it isn't worth fixing".
Bottom line is stay away from Insight Homes. The concept is not bad "a better house" but the people there are just holier than thou know it all's. They are way too smart for us common folk to understand and they know statistical probabilities for every scenario. Problem is nobody wan'ts to be a statistic. We all want to be happy with our homes! Don't tell me what type of mold is dangerous, I don't care, just get it out of my house! Don't tell me statistics, fix my water heater! Don't tell me my floor squeaks because it's saving wild life, just fix it!
Anyhow, my two cents. It's easy to buy in to the "better house" but difficult to actually live in one where things are wrong and the company who built it spouts out every statistic in the world (verified or not) rather than just fixing the house.
That's a little strange because insight uses rinnai water heaters, which are on demand water heaters they don't store water in a tank. They do offer insulated garages but you have to pay extra,as is the case with any builders I checked while looking for a builder. I have no odor or mold in my crawl space and checked with my neighbors and they stated they aren't having problems with that either. If you go to a construction website on engineered joist you will read the same thing your were told, but I imagine you know that. I will say they had problems with customer care a while back but they have hired a woman to take care of this issue and she has been great. I had two minor issues that need to be fixed and both were done within a week.
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